Dalglish expects Andre Villas-Boas's charges to once again be near the top of the final standings come May.

He told liverpoolfc.tv: "I wouldn't expect them to be too far away. It's up to them how close they get. We're not really concerned about that - we want to get ourselves up there as well.

"I haven't really had a close enough look at them to see (how they've changed) but they've signed some players. Mata has come in, Meireles has come in and Daniel Sturridge has come back from loan at Bolton, so there are three for starters. We'll have a look at them over the next few days and we'll make sure we play to our strengths, but give them the respect they deserve."